A very interesting discussion thread...

I've been doing this list for many years now.  Actually, it's pretty amazing
when I sit back and think of it.  It will probably be 6 years in February
that I've been operating some list about Maine hockey.  The vast majority of
those years this list has been housed at the university, and I am grateful
for the assistance of the UNET staff and others over the years.  But Wayne
is right, the university does not operate the list and it is not associated
with the SID department or the hockey office.  It is a list started by fans
and for the most part populated with fans.

Today, the list continues to be here for the same purpose as always:  to
provide a place for discussion about Maine hockey.

The Internet has changed quite a bit since I first started doing this.
There are now message boards on the Internet that people use as well as
sites like USCHO that provide information to people.  Personally, I enjoy
receiving messages in my mailbox and I don't have to surf the web to do it.
However, I understand that not everyone is like me (fortunately).

I do admit however that I become dismayed when people use this forum to try
and get people to go their message board and strike up conversation, instead
of encouraging more conversation here.  I wish more people would like to
work with ME-HOCKEY on their web sites instead of trying to reinvent the
wheel.  There are now web-based ways to use the ME-HOCKEY list for those who
want to promote discussion of Maine hockey on their web sites.  The answer
to having high quality discussion forums is not necessarily to spread thin
the interested parties.  My feeling is the more people you concentrate in
one place the better arena for a discussion forum and everyone benefits.  My
sincerest thanks to Bob Thomas who has always been a supporter of this list
and promotes ME-HOCKEY and even provides instructions on how to sign up on
his official Maine hockey web site at http://www.umaine.edu/hockey.

Wayne makes a great point about writing e-mails or articles here for
ourselves.  In many ways, we are like our own fraternity of Maine fans here.
Someone said that this list has a duty to provide information to those who
may be out of the area, etc.  That is true, but a list such as this is only
as good as it members and specifically its members who post messages.  If we
want the list to continue to succeed and grow, then we all have a duty to
make that happen and to continue the high-level of discussion that we have
come to depend on over the years.

My thanks to everyone for your continued support of ME-HOCKEY *and* MAINE
HOCKEY!

Best Regards,
Deron Treadwell
ME-HOCKEY Administrator